Photofinish Cleaner Discontinued? Alternatives?

[Dan Rainer]

I bought a bottle of PhotoFinish Darkroom Cleaner a few years ago. It's been a fantastic all-purpose cleaner. Recently, I tried to pick up another bottle. Freestyle has it listed as "Currently Unavailable" and B&H has no listing. Looking up the company, Marblehead Laboratories, yields no results at all. Is this stuff discontinued? If so, does anyone have a comparable alternative?

 

[MTGseattle]

There seem to be some special cleaners for lab equipment. Nalgene L900 is one. It looks to be hideously expensive.
I can only guess the key here being a cleaner that leaves no residue to interfere with the darkroom chemistry so I'm not sure simple green would be a good choice even though it's also non-toxic and biodegradable.

 

[mshchem]

There's a msds online, address belongs to a home in Needham MA. Looks like the proprietor is in his 80's. Probably no longer in biz. I would look for an OTC household cleaner no bleach, used to be Bon ami was recommended by Kodak, it's not around anymore.

 

[koraks]

Substitute elbow grease.

MSDS shows there's basically nothing of interest in there. The fact that it comes as a paste suggests it's a mild abrasive.

I don't doubt the product is effective, but this mostly shows the relatively benign nature of most darkroom grime & stains.

 

[ags2mikon]

I don't know what the OP is after but, here is a link to what I use to clean the sink and all of my glass, plastic and stainless with. It is used in the dairy industry to clean the milkstone from the tanks and lines and is food safe, USF rated and doesn't leave a residue. I live in a very hard water area with very high TDS and it cleans the hard water gunk off of every thing. Spray wait and rinse. It also works on the toilet. I buy 2 bottles at a time, one for the house and one for the darkroom. I'v been using it for over 30 years and have found nothing better. https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/clover-patch-milkstone-remover-1203447

 

[koraks]

Online search suggests that "Clover Patch milkstone remover" is phosphoric acid. Coca Cola can be substituted as this also contains phosphoric acid. Note that the milkstone remover will likely be far more aggressive than the PhotoFinish product.

 

[ags2mikon]

I have used it on everything in the darkroom including my Jobo and it has worked very well. If Coke was less expensive and didn't leave a sticky residue behind I would switch to it. The previous owner of my motor home parked it where his lawn sprinklers sprayed the windshield and when I bought it it was so spotted up you could not drive it at night. This was the only thing that worked, and it didn't ruin the paint. Vinegar is great on glass most of the time, but it didn't work. According to our local environmental office it is waste water disposal safe for the water treatment plant.

 

[Old_Dick]

There's a msds online, address belongs to a home in Needham MA. Looks like the proprietor is in his 80's. Probably no longer in biz. I would look for an OTC household cleaner no bleach, used to be Bon ami was recommended by Kodak, it's not around anymore.

I just purchased Bom Ami today at a local store. Amazon has it. Chevy used it for window cleaning.

 

[mshchem]

I just purchased Bom Ami today at a local store. Amazon has it. Chevy used it for window cleaning.

Perfect, I have Bon Ami in my hoarde I was confusing it with Old Dutch powder

 

[Dan Rainer]

I don't know what the OP is after but, here is a link to what I use to clean the sink and all of my glass, plastic and stainless with. It is used in the dairy industry to clean the milkstone from the tanks and lines and is food safe, USF rated and doesn't leave a residue. I live in a very hard water area with very high TDS and it cleans the hard water gunk off of every thing. Spray wait and rinse. It also works on the toilet. I buy 2 bottles at a time, one for the house and one for the darkroom. I'v been using it for over 30 years and have found nothing better. https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/clover-patch-milkstone-remover-1203447

I just purchased Bom Ami today at a local store. Amazon has it. Chevy used it for window cleaning.

Perfect, I have Bon Ami in my hoarde I was confusing it with Old Dutch powder

I'll give Bon Ami a try, Clover Patch seems a bit aggressive for my needs. I don't have particularly hard water in my area. Thanks for the good recommendations!

 

[mshchem]

I'll give Bon Ami a try, Clover Patch seems a bit aggressive for my needs. I don't have particularly hard water in my area. Thanks for the good recommendations!

You need to find the original BonAmi, this was a soft mineral, Kodak recommended for use on 316 SS. Any abrasive can scratch. No chlorine!!!!!

 

[farpointer]

I bought and have been using this for a couple of years now - I’m not sure it’s worth the price over some other kind of decent cleanser like Simple Green, thiugh

Clayton Titan Blue Photo System Cleaner 1 Gallon

Clayton Titan Blue Photo System Cleaner 1 Gallon - Titan Blue is a non-toxic, biodegradable, general use cleaner. Titan Blue is available in concentrated form and can be diluted for specific applications throughout the photo operation. Titan Blue has a pleasant odor,…

www.freestylephoto.com

 

[Dan Rainer]

You need to find the original BonAmi, this was a soft mineral, Kodak recommended for use on 316 SS. Any abrasive can scratch. No chlorine!!!!!

Would it be a good choice for Paterson Tanks/Reels?

 

[Arthurwg]

I've been looking for this stuff too. No luck. Maybe "Soft Scrub"?

 

[koraks]

Would it be a good choice for Paterson Tanks/Reels?

The key to BonAmi and any other polishing agent is that mechanical friction plays a large role in the cleaning action. Hence, for the surfaces of a tank that you can easily get to it'll work, but for e.g. reels and the light trap of a tank, not so much.
However, I've personally never seen the need to clean a tank with anything else than just a good rinse of water.

 

[mshchem]

Would it be a good choice for Paterson Tanks/Reels?

Definitely not. I wouldn't use anything on plastic other than hot water. I think Kodak figured that they needed to try and specify something for stainless, BonAmi was the least destructive. In the USA Comet cleanser has a chlorine compound added, absolutely the worst thing for stainless steel is chlorine compounds.

I keep a bottle of a Palmolive dish liquid, absolutely clear, no added hand lotion etc. I use a tiny amount in a pail of hot water to clean my sinks when required, avoid anything that can scratch stainless or gel coat on fiberglass.

The Magic sponge foam sponges, some weird creation (I think BASF supplies the foam), are nice to clean grunge. The only thing that I can think of that I've really had to clean up are the darn Jobo bottles that develop stains from extensive contact with E6 color developer and such. I used hot soapy water and a foam bottle brush, and the Mr Clean Magic Eraser sponges.

 

[chuckroast]

Barkeepers Friend

 

[mshchem]

Barkeepers Friend

BKF Has oxalic acid, removes rust and hard water. Works great on sinks, it will polish metal, go easy on stainless steel to avoid changing the surface finish, sprinkle on a damp sink and wait a couple minutes the oxalic acid will remove rust and hard water deposits.

 

[chuckroast]

BKF Has oxalic acid, removes rust and hard water. Works great on sinks, it will polish metal, go easy on stainless steel to avoid changing the surface finish, sprinkle on a damp sink and wait a couple minutes the oxalic acid will remove rust and hard water deposits.

Yes, but there is also a much less abrasive liquid form that is good for gentle stain removal and light polishing.